In recent years, variable resistance nonvolatile memory elements using variable resistance material has been used as a material for storage. The variable resistance material comprises a transition metal oxide which is oxygen-deficient compared to a transition metal oxide in stoichiometric composition. Such a nonvolatile memory element includes an upper electrode layer, a lower electrode layer, a variable resistance layer interposed between the upper electrode layer and the lower electrode layer, and a resistance value of the variable resistance layer reversibly changes by applying an electric pulse between the upper electrode layer and the lower electrode layer. Accordingly, information can be stored in a nonvolatile manner by associating the information with the resistance value (for example, see Patent Literature 1). Compared to a flash memory element using floating gate, it is expected that the variable resistance nonvolatile memory element can be miniaturized, increase the speed, and reduce the power consumption.